China would consider sending troops for Djibouti-Eritrea

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - China's top diplomat to the African Union says his country would consider sending peacekeeping troops to a disputed Djibouti-Eritrea border region after Qatar pulled out its troops last month.

Kuang Weilin told The Associated Press on Friday that China also would consider stepping in to mediate the dispute between the East African nations if asked.

China this month dispatched members of its army to Djibouti to man the rising Asian giant's first overseas military base.

Qatar withdrew 450 peacekeeping troops from the contested Dumeriah mountain area while it is caught up in its own diplomatic clash with other Arab nations. It had mediated the territorial dispute and its peacekeepers had been deployed after a 2010 cease-fire deal.